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Feb 13, 2012

Mopping Off Small and Light Arms in Nigeria

While Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan hosted a
delegation from the EU on February 8, 2012, the issue of cooperation for the
common good of both parties came up. One was the issue of cooperating with the
EU to help Nigeria to clean up its confines of small and light arms that have
entrenched an era of violence only comparable with events in the build up to
the Civil War in 1966. One way Nigeria can end this period of unjustifiable
killings and mayhem of innocent Nigerians is, no doubt, by withdrawing the
weapons that have sustained the ugly period of sleeplessness in the country.

If the government and its friends must clean up the nation
of small and light weapons successfully, we must acknowledge the herculean
nature of the assignment. The herculean nature is made obvious by the fact that
there is hardly any region of the country where there has been no violence
since 1999. Prior to this period, there has been insecurity brought about by
crime, mainly armed banditry. The weapons used by this category have been
mostly automatic rifles and locally made pistols. With the new democracy in 1999,
some persons in the largely Islamic North of the country started asking for the
implementation of Sharia Law. Christians within the region started experiencing
violence for opposing the calls for the implementation of the Sharia Law. Some
Christians who could not cope with the situation moved to other parts of the
country. However, some Christians who spent life times building business
reputation and wealth in the affected regions saw it as unwise to leave behind
these lifetime achievements to start lives anew elsewhere. Some of these people
that include a lot of Ibos saw expedience in buying weapons with which to
defend themselves in the event of an outbreak of conflict resulting from
religious misunderstandings. This crisis in the north was followed by rebellion
by militants in the Niger Delta. It is right to suspect that most weapons used
by the Niger Delta militants came through the sea bordering the Niger Delta
communities. Then there is the Jos crisis that has lasted for more than a
decade. Government’s inability to end the conflict informed the need for people
to buy weapons in order to defend themselves. The central location of Jos
allowed entry of weapons from both the south and the north. There are cases of
arrest of persons involved in gun running from both the south and the north
with Jos as destination. Violent life in Jos was followed by what has turned
out to be the greatest security challenge in Nigeria, the Boko Haram which is
the primary motive behind the intended collaboration of federal government of
Nigeria and the EU. The weapons used by Boko Haram will be found in the North
Eastern region where the activities of the so-called jihadist are most established.

In Jos, the prevalence of small and light weapons is so
grave that, frequently, one hears the exploding sounds of weapons being tested in
the night to ascertain their functionality.

While the Boko Haram bloody activities intensified, the
possibility of collaboration with foreign governments with the aim of keeping
them at bay became imminent. Sadly, some Nigerians started condemning the
Nigerian administration for demonstration of incompetence. These groups of
Nigerians, to me, are either supporters of violence in Nigeria or persons with
evil political opposition who are desperately looking for ways to fault the
government. With this possibility of EU-Nigerian collaboration for the purpose
of restoring lasting peace in Nigeria, the same groups of Nigerians have
started making the same criticism. The truth however is that terrorism is
something that has always been fought through international collaboration
whether in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan or Indonesia. Thus the intention of the
Federal Government of Nigeria to collaborate with the EU in order to clean up
the nation of deadly weapons that have sustained terrorism is only
conventional.

However, there is the need to call the attention of the
administration of Goodluck Jonathan to the fact that, fundamentally, what has
sustained the state of insecurity in Nigeria is corruption. The same factor
will be the reason why any effort of the administration will hardly work. While
the period of insecurity in Nigeria lasted, there have been arrests of persons
dealing in weapons in the hinterland of Nigeria, at border areas of the north
and the coastal areas down south. While the arrests represent moments of
triumph for the administration and the nation, the judicial silence that
usually follow thereafter often represent moments of shame for well meaning
citizens and the nation.

When the Nigerian police force is mentioned in Nigeria, the
first thing that comes to mind is corruption because the force has over the
years become the epitome of corruption in the country. Corruption among the
rank and file within the police is opened as seen at police check points on our
roads where every commercial vehicle must give twenty naira (N20) before it is
allowed to pass. Any driver that refuses to comply is made to pull out and has
his time wasted. On the other hand, those that comply are allowed passage
without the scrutiny for which the roadblocks were set up. The implication is
that one could carry contraband and get away with it as long as he is willing
to give that twenty naira with ease. It is often said that senior police
officers back in the office often wait for ‘returns’ from the men in the field.
The dirty act is so tolerated that is has become an attraction that lures some
Nigerians into joining the force.

Nigerian borders have often been described as being porous
as a result of inadequate security manpower and explains why weapons will
always come in. This is not true. What is true however is that the porosity of
the Nigerian borders is by design, caused by policemen that are readily willing
to take bribes and disable standard procedures.

The administration of Goodluck Jonathan must understand that
his government will never succeed by refusing to fight corruption, as it is the
bedrock of mediocrity that has entrenched the series of tribulations within the
nation.